First, let me dabble on the pedantic side.... you won't break your prothesis. That thing is titanium, ceramic and high molecular weight polyethylene. But you can experience the devastating "periprothetic femur fracture" (bone) and live that nightmare. But yes, don't crash on your hips!
Second, the adventure seems a prototypical Twight adventure. I've had a proper gravel bike for years but recently read an article on Reddit titled, "The best gravel bike is a hard-tail MTB". So, I dove in. I now have a Specialized Epic and I put 32mm tires on my Diverge and ride it on the road. Pretty nice. I have way more fun on the Epic while not feeling quite as "special" as I was riding free-ride single track on the Diverge.
You're right, that actually was the risk the doc mentioned; crack the femur and it's a whole new world of hurt and orthopedic intervention.
On the other topic, I sold my hard-tail because, well, the whole MTB thing never really resonated. Partially because my balance is crap — can't stand on a slackline to save my life — so when I slowed down on technical terrain and lost the gyroscopic effect of wheels at speed it was tough to stay upright. When I was first trying and learning the MTB thing 10-11 years ago I would sometimes find myself on the ground, looking at the sky, and wondering WTF just happened.
I quite appreciate the freedom that the limitations of the G-bike present; the single track isn't as inviting, nor are the 70 mph roads with no shoulder. But if the map says gravel or unimproved or fire road we head that direction. Who knows how things will develop though? Change sometimes surprises us.
Awesome version of asking the question without being dependent on an answer. And when using the "wrong" tool for the job becomes a great teacher and subsequently expands the map. These days it can be hard to imagine the days before high-volume tubeless tires, so thanks for channeling some old-school energy here!
I got quite a laugh seeing how narrow those 28s are in the pic of that bike. I'm pretty sure I can fit 35s or maybe 38s into the rear triangle but that set-up isn't nearly as fun or solid feeling (on the gravel) as the Upper with those 650b Grand Bois tires on it. 🙏🏻
Great story Mark. With 2 hip and one knee replacement ( second one coming soon) I can appreciate your doc’s concern about not crashing on a MTB. Unfortunately I fell twice last year, coming off my gravel bike when I couldn’t get my left foot out of the cleat in time. I was going slowly both times, going up some tricky terrain, keeled over and landed square on my new left hip. Fortunately x-rays revealed no damage. I am mostly a roadie. Gravel definitely takes some getting used to but very fun!
I ride in Australia. You could be riding a two-hour trail 15km from a city centre and on the wrong day, heat and dehydration can get you into trouble. I've had to help riders in just that situation.
You're right about gravel-riding too. Everything is different from geometry to body position to biomechanics to cadence. It's not roading and it's not MTBing -- it's its own thing and you want a bike that will let you do it.
In proof of which, I've ridden 60km of corrugated clay before. There *is* no bike seat which is right for that. You're not standing; you're not sitting -- you're 'hovering', and it's amazing how quickly you'll learn to soften wrists, shoulders and feet. Tyres are everything.
My longest gravel ride was 1200km through the Australian Outback. I was with a group; most were on MTBs with 2.25" tyres or wider. I was on a gravel-bike with 38mm touring tyres (armoured because of the thorns there.) The dust on the road was sometimes two feet deep, which could have been a major mistake.
I got super lucky with the weather though. It had rained recently enough to pack most of it down, but long enough that it wasn't muddy. It was like trying to read red snow-drifts, but you learned to work it out, and there wasn't too much walking. After 21 days of pushing that though, I came out of it with legs like Christmas hams. XD
This is FANTASTIC. Hovering, oh yes, it’s why the big gear was key in the washboard. Also, damn, 1200km is burly, especially in 38s. My current gravel bike has 43s on 650b wheels and I would hesitate to return to anything narrower after feeling how well these ride on all sorts of terrain. Onward!
That 1200km ride was full of toughies. Then in my mid-50s, I was the baby of the group. Our oldest was 79.👶🏻
But within 12 months after I finished that ride, I picked up a steel-framed bikepacking bike on 3" 'Plus' tyres. (Surly Karate-Monkey.) Technically it's a rigid 650b MTB, but has the option to go hardtail *or* to go 29er with narrower rubber. In practice if you give it some weird handlebars (I use Velo Orange Crazybars), you've got a capable endurance bikepacker well-suited for the range of harsh that Australia offers. It hasn't the wheelbase for a tourer, but will do reasonable expedition if you're careful with packing.
But we've had Covid, three years of La Nina rains and some whackier weather after that. I'm still looking for a good weather window. [Meanwhile I've been kayaking, hiking and sailing instead. ;)]
First, let me dabble on the pedantic side.... you won't break your prothesis. That thing is titanium, ceramic and high molecular weight polyethylene. But you can experience the devastating "periprothetic femur fracture" (bone) and live that nightmare. But yes, don't crash on your hips!
Second, the adventure seems a prototypical Twight adventure. I've had a proper gravel bike for years but recently read an article on Reddit titled, "The best gravel bike is a hard-tail MTB". So, I dove in. I now have a Specialized Epic and I put 32mm tires on my Diverge and ride it on the road. Pretty nice. I have way more fun on the Epic while not feeling quite as "special" as I was riding free-ride single track on the Diverge.
You're right, that actually was the risk the doc mentioned; crack the femur and it's a whole new world of hurt and orthopedic intervention.
On the other topic, I sold my hard-tail because, well, the whole MTB thing never really resonated. Partially because my balance is crap — can't stand on a slackline to save my life — so when I slowed down on technical terrain and lost the gyroscopic effect of wheels at speed it was tough to stay upright. When I was first trying and learning the MTB thing 10-11 years ago I would sometimes find myself on the ground, looking at the sky, and wondering WTF just happened.
I quite appreciate the freedom that the limitations of the G-bike present; the single track isn't as inviting, nor are the 70 mph roads with no shoulder. But if the map says gravel or unimproved or fire road we head that direction. Who knows how things will develop though? Change sometimes surprises us.
Awesome version of asking the question without being dependent on an answer. And when using the "wrong" tool for the job becomes a great teacher and subsequently expands the map. These days it can be hard to imagine the days before high-volume tubeless tires, so thanks for channeling some old-school energy here!
I got quite a laugh seeing how narrow those 28s are in the pic of that bike. I'm pretty sure I can fit 35s or maybe 38s into the rear triangle but that set-up isn't nearly as fun or solid feeling (on the gravel) as the Upper with those 650b Grand Bois tires on it. 🙏🏻
Great story Mark. With 2 hip and one knee replacement ( second one coming soon) I can appreciate your doc’s concern about not crashing on a MTB. Unfortunately I fell twice last year, coming off my gravel bike when I couldn’t get my left foot out of the cleat in time. I was going slowly both times, going up some tricky terrain, keeled over and landed square on my new left hip. Fortunately x-rays revealed no damage. I am mostly a roadie. Gravel definitely takes some getting used to but very fun!
I do appreciate the lack of traffic on our local gravel roads, and the fact they often lead to places I'd not otherwise see.
Mark that was hilarious -- and scary!
I ride in Australia. You could be riding a two-hour trail 15km from a city centre and on the wrong day, heat and dehydration can get you into trouble. I've had to help riders in just that situation.
You're right about gravel-riding too. Everything is different from geometry to body position to biomechanics to cadence. It's not roading and it's not MTBing -- it's its own thing and you want a bike that will let you do it.
In proof of which, I've ridden 60km of corrugated clay before. There *is* no bike seat which is right for that. You're not standing; you're not sitting -- you're 'hovering', and it's amazing how quickly you'll learn to soften wrists, shoulders and feet. Tyres are everything.
My longest gravel ride was 1200km through the Australian Outback. I was with a group; most were on MTBs with 2.25" tyres or wider. I was on a gravel-bike with 38mm touring tyres (armoured because of the thorns there.) The dust on the road was sometimes two feet deep, which could have been a major mistake.
I got super lucky with the weather though. It had rained recently enough to pack most of it down, but long enough that it wasn't muddy. It was like trying to read red snow-drifts, but you learned to work it out, and there wasn't too much walking. After 21 days of pushing that though, I came out of it with legs like Christmas hams. XD
This is FANTASTIC. Hovering, oh yes, it’s why the big gear was key in the washboard. Also, damn, 1200km is burly, especially in 38s. My current gravel bike has 43s on 650b wheels and I would hesitate to return to anything narrower after feeling how well these ride on all sorts of terrain. Onward!
I feel ya, Mark.
That 1200km ride was full of toughies. Then in my mid-50s, I was the baby of the group. Our oldest was 79.👶🏻
But within 12 months after I finished that ride, I picked up a steel-framed bikepacking bike on 3" 'Plus' tyres. (Surly Karate-Monkey.) Technically it's a rigid 650b MTB, but has the option to go hardtail *or* to go 29er with narrower rubber. In practice if you give it some weird handlebars (I use Velo Orange Crazybars), you've got a capable endurance bikepacker well-suited for the range of harsh that Australia offers. It hasn't the wheelbase for a tourer, but will do reasonable expedition if you're careful with packing.
But we've had Covid, three years of La Nina rains and some whackier weather after that. I'm still looking for a good weather window. [Meanwhile I've been kayaking, hiking and sailing instead. ;)]